Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School

Not too long ago, the University of Illinois athletic department asked if one of their athletes, Tracy Abrams, could come and read to our 2nd graders. And of course we said YES! Our 2nd graders were very excited about the visit.

Mr. Abrams came on Tuesday, October 21 and read to all 2nd grade classroom. He also talked with the students about sportsmanship, doing homework, and showing respect to adults. Below are some pictures from Mr. Abrams visit. Read the rest of this entry »

October 7th, 2014

October 4, 2013

Dear King School Families,

We are inviting all King families to participate in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. We are partnering with C-U Safe Routes to School Project and Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District for this event. There is a flyer in your child’s backpack with more information about this event.

If you live in the immediate King School Neighborhood, we are encouraging you to walk with your child on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. If your child rides the bus to school, you are welcome to join us by driving them on this particular day. I would like to invite our children that are normally driven to school by a parent/guardian to meet us in the parking lot between Perkins restaurant and the Hampton Inn on University Ave. to walk to King School together at 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 2013.

All bus riders will also have an opportunity to walk to school as well. First Student buses will unload King School students at the corner of Fairview and Lincoln in the Family Video parking lot. King staff members will be available to walk the two blocks with students for this event.

I would like to remind families that students should be ready to enter the school building at their regular grade level entrance at 8:10 a.m. With this in mind, you should begin to arrive in King School’s neighborhood before 8:00 a.m. to park and allow yourself time to walk to school with our students and staff members from either Family Video or the Perkins and Hampton Inn parking lot. Students who normally eat breakfast will still be able to eat at 8:00 a.m. in the multipurpose room.

A continental breakfast will be served in our library from 8:00-8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, October 9th for parents and family members who participate in the walk to school event. You are invited to have a cup of coffee/juice and a muffin while you complete the Walkability Checklist provided by the C-U Safe Routes Project. All parents that live within walking distance of King School are invited to offer your input as we plan safe walking routes for your children from the Walkability Checklists.

We look forward to seeing you on the morning of Wednesday, October 9, 2013. Please call 384-3675 if you have any further questions, or you would like to volunteer to assist during the walk or with the parent breakfast to earn VIP Program Points.

Kindergarten Connection at the Urbana Civic Center on April 8th was a success! We had 184 families attend this first step into kindergarten!

If you missed the Kindergarten Connection and your child will be entering Kindergarten at King Elementary school this fall, you are encouraged to go to the school to begin the sign-up process.

At the school, you, the parent or legal guardian, will complete the registration forms, sign-up your student for an August kindergarten screening, and receive a handbook with information about Urbana’s kindergarten classes and how to ensure success for your child.

Each neighborhood elementary school has set aside time between now and the end of the school year (June 4th) for parents who missed Kindergarten Connection but still need to start the registration process. Dates and times for King Elementary is listed below. Starting the process now will help you to avoid the long “New Student” lines at Centralized Registration on July 29th – July 31st.

Kindergarten Connection/registration times for King Elementary school is:

A new program at King Elementary will have their students continuing to build their academic skills over the summer holiday. The Summer Enrichment Extravaganza will have students reading during the break and King Elementary is asking for donations from the community to help make the program a success.

In a recent letter to the community, King Principal Dionne Webster outlined a Summer Enrichment Extravaganza program. Mrs. Webster wrote that the “purpose of this event is to provide our students with educational activities over the summer to continue to build upon the academic skills they acquired this school year, and to provide students and families with a preview of the skills they will need for the upcoming school year.” The school will partner with a number of community groups and organizations to provide the materials the students and their families need to participate. King Elementary is looking for donations to help purchase challenging high interests texts for their students.

If you are interested in making a donation or would like additional information, please contact King Elementary at 217-384-3675.

King Elementary School was honored recently by the installation of a sculpture through the Urbana Public Arts Commission in King Park. Artist Preston Jackson of Peoria was commissioned to create a sculpture in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his work in the Civil Rights Movement. The sculpture was placed in King Park by Lincoln Avenue in Urbana.

Prior to the installation, USD Elementary Fine Arts teachers, Cara Maurizi (music) and Sarah Tavis (art) presented ideas to celebrate it’s dedication and these were approved by the Arts commission in October, 2013. Both teachers created lessons that began in the fall and culminated in a celebration on January 24, 2014. Students at King school started learning about civil rights in their classrooms as well as in Fine Arts classes. Studies included guitars, protest songs, quilt squares and sculptures. All King students then participated in a program that included music and artwork from the civil rights movement. As part of the study, several special guests came to King school, including Scott Schwartz and Marten Stromberg, who helped teach songs, Ryan Groff who helped the students learn guitar and Gladys Pope who gave a moving speech about what it was like to live during the civil rights era. It was a moving assembly and great tribute to the work of Martin Luther King Jr.